“What Can We Green by Greenbuild?” in Green Building & Design

In an attempt to break Greenbuild out of the convention center and set the stage for a new era of the expo, the Delaware Valley Green Building Council issued a challenge to the people of Philadelphia.

At their best, industry conferences are the perfect backdrop for rubbing elbows and sharing best practices with your peers. But even when performing at this ideal level, conferences have a tendency toward self-congratulations, which often work against the industry’s best intentions. In an attempt to correct this, and set a new standard for what a green building conference can do, the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC), the host chapter for this year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Philadelphia, launched a challenge to unite the greater community of the Delaware Valley by pledging to “green” itself by November 2013. . . .

In addition to actual built-project pledges, such as Keating Environmental Management’s pledge to help implement 10 LEED-EB projects or Mission First Housing Group’s pledge to deliver 1,000 green and affordable housing units, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization, will be curating an arts exhibit showcasing work from artists who have visualized or depicted changes in environmental growth or degradation. “This kind of exhibit is a great tie-in for what Greenbuild can be for a city,” Blakeslee says. “People are coming here, to Philadelphia, and they’re not only seeing our sustainable work, but our vibrant and robust arts and culture community. There are a lot of ties between the arts and the sustainable communities that make this region especially unique.” Read More.